Naruto: Senkengan Revived!
by Little Bookwyrm
Summary: Of all the things that Neji Hyuga thought that couldn't happen to him, it did. Now, not only does he have to watch a mysterious kunoichi and her pet, but has to make sure that he survives her attempts on his life! R&R please, rated T for safety. on Hiatus
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!**

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><p>Prologue<p>

It was quiet; too quiet. Had hours past since the small girl had taken shelter in the darkness of her parent's closet? Was it safe, or was the stranger still lurking within her family's small home?

The girl was very fair, only three years of age with a straight, yet lively mop of silver hair and large, innocent blue-violet eyes that stared terrified at the slightly opened door of the clothes hanger. In her arms, the girl clutched a large, hand-made stuffed rabbit that sported blue buttons for its eyes and cherry thread that was its mouth and nose.

The small girl wanted to call out, wanted her parents to come and hold her in assurance, but Oka-san had told her, no, _ordered_ her to be quiet. If there was one thing that the girl knew well, was that she must never, not matter the circumstance, to disobey her parents; yet, with the growing pit in her stomach, the girl wished that she could as the growing dread was becoming near to unbearable with the tight space of her hiding place.

The girl couldn't remember exactly what had happened earlier that day—like with most every other day—but she was aware of the fact that her family had remained home. Her mother had been tending to her younger brother for most of the day in the back room, which was her parent's room, and her father had been on the porch, enjoying a novel as he usually did.

When evening had arrived, they had just barely finished a meal of well-cooked fish when the door was heard opening. Before she had been able to ask who was there, the girl was hustled inside her parent's room by her Oka-san, who told her to hide in the closet and be quiet. Having not wanted to disobey her mother, the girl took quick shelter inside the clothes hanger and, as she now sat there weeping silently, wondered what had happened after.

She wished desperately that someone would come to assure her; the girl listened anxiously for any sound or movement within her home. It came to mind then on why Oka-san or Oto-san hadn't come to get her or if something had happened that they couldn't come to retrieve her.

Suddenly, the small girl could hear footsteps cautiously making their way to the back of the house. Having thought it was her parents, the girl nearly jumped from the safety of the closet when another thought came to her. _What if the stranger was still in the house?_

She knew it couldn't be Oto-san; he never walked in fear, for his stride was always one of authority and confidence. It wasn't Oka-san either, for she was graceful and elegant with each step that she took.

The body of the girl stiffened at the sound of the door leading to her parent's room slid open and the footsteps followed, sounding much closer than before. Overcome by curiosity, the girl silently inched toward the slightly opened door of her safe haven. She wondered if the new comer was the same stranger that had entered her home earlier unannounced.

Unfortunately, before the girl could properly peer out the door, she inhaled a deep breath and sneezed automatically into the white rabbit's material. She instantly became full of fear as the footsteps stopped and swirled to her direction. She struggled to conceal herself among the rack of clothes as the person came closer. The owner obviously heard the rattle of the hangers, as he halted a few feet from the door.

Feeling her heart pounding uncontrollably within her small chest, the girl breathed heavily to accommodate the sudden heat wave that had swept through, while wondering if the stranger could hear it as well. Droplets of sweat dripped from her temple and her back in such large amounts that the girl questioned if rain had seeped in through the roof.

Time had most certainly stopped in its course as the girl sat in total silence, only hearing her own breathing and heartbeat. Fear had completely swallowed her and every breath seemed to echo within her.

Then, the light that seeped through the crack widened, and the girl came face to face with the stranger. He seemed to be almost as tall as her father and, was that a gown he was wearing, or was it a robe of some sort?

"What are you hiding in here for?" the man asked gently, looking down on the small girl from his full height.

"Where's Oka-san and the Oto-san?" the girl asked back, near to a scream. "What did you do to them?"

The man didn't reply, but kneeled down to the girl's level and gazed gently at her. He didn't seem to be the killer type, with long, coffee-colored hair that was held back behind his head by a cloth band on his head that sported a bizarre shape on a thin plate of metal. His eyes seem to only add to his strangeness; they were the color of lavender, and the girl couldn't see the pupils within the orbs, which only fed her ever-growing curiosity.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked softly, as if not to be overheard.

"Oka-san told me to hide in the closet," the girl huffed. "Didn't say why, but no one disobeys Oka-san."

The man smiled warmly, his eyes glowing with a strange, friendly aura. "I'm sure they don't," he said after a while. "Let's get you someplace safe now."

"What about my parents," the girl exclaimed. "I can't leave them."

"They'll be along shortly," was the man's only reply as he scooped up the girl into his arms, cuddling her against his chest. He felt very warm and the girl immediately felt exhausted and silently slipped into a deep sleep. The man gazed at the sleepy girl with sorrow; she couldn't be no more than a little younger than his own son, and yet she experienced such a thing that no child should ever go through.

The rabbit, no longer held securely, slipped from the girl's lifeless arms and fell into a shallow pool of red liquid, its white cloth becoming splotched by the scarlet fluid.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

For the first time in nearly his entire life, eighteen year old Hyuga Neji was unsure on what to do.

He had been trained his entire life to act under extreme pressure, conditioned to use his opponent's energy against themselves, and how to end a battle fast with no harm to himself. Yet, in this situation, this didn't seem that all those years of training would be of much aid to him. He had wondered from the very beginning what to do with the mess that he had _involuntarily_ placed himself in.

Now that he thought about it, the Hyuga male was curious on what _exactly_ had occurred to plant him in this predicament. That did not include getting lost—as Hyuga Neji _never_ got lost; it might be that he had decided to take a small, yes _a_ _small_, detour on his return to Konoha.

He hadn't intended to delay his return, Neji had continually told himself; it was just the fact that he had completed his mission a week earlier than previously predicted and decided to take it slow. Then again, the proud, never-wrong male wasn't willing to face his uncle, who was close to driving Neji up the wall with his sudden, unannounced invitations to every young, single, and high-ranking female that was positioned throughout Fire Country.

When had the old man taken it into his head to mess with his nephew's personal life, Neji wondered. He wasn't willing to mix with those of the female race, unless they happened to be his fellow kunoichi who knew how to fight when the time came about. To be honest, he was more than willing to stay far away from those snobby, raised spoiled-rotten individuals that thought of nothing except to flirt with every single male of higher rank as a pastime.

_And now this?_

The Hyuga male was instantly regretting that he had ever believed in fate, as he would never have imagined that this would come into his life.

The human form, nearly a meter or so from where he stood, had not moved an inch since Neji had come upon it in the clearing some time before. The dainty, gloved hands that clutched the hilts of two katana swords alongside the being's body clearly stated that the person was indeed female, possibly about his age.

The body was positioned on the stomach, a possible sign of collapse from exhaustion; her clothes were slightly shredded and splotched with blood that long had since dried. The material was of dark leather, trimmed with white rabbit fur; from the hooded shawl to the iron-toed boots that she wore on her feet, the girl was clearly prepared for life in a cold climate.

_Could she be from Snow Country?_ Neji wondered as he stared at the female. While they were not the best of friends, Konoha would perform missions within the borders of Snow Country. It was often noted that snow ninja would begin conflicts with ninja of Konoha, a few of them being fatal on both fronts.

With the Byakugan activated, Neji couldn't sense anyone hiding nearby—the nearest human settlement was nearly a mile away—though he knew that such an assumption could prove fatal to his possible carelessness if he allowed such an act. Slowly coming up on the girl's side, Neji immediately noticed the soft rise and fall of her back, evident of breathing. There were no ruts of blood surrounding the girl, so she clearly was no victim of an ambush, though possibly just a simple battle, but with what?

_At least she is alive,_ Neji figured, glancing around before slowly seizing hold of the leather cowl and gingerly pulled it back.

Strands of silky, silver-blonde hair fell from the covering in a thick wave, its reflection startling the Hyuga so much that he dropped the cowl and took several steps back. He watched in silence as the hair settled on the ground, and anxiously waited in case the girl suddenly attacked.

_You're losing your head over nothing,_ Neji told himself when no such thing occurred, regaining enough control to walk over and nudge the hair aside with his gloved hands.

He prayed that the girl wouldn't suddenly wake and decide to strike out at him for messing with her hair. Fortunately for the Hyuga, the girl did no such thing but remained in whatever dream she was having. Growing bolder, Neji clasped her limp shoulders and slowly turned her over, revealing her previous-hidden silhouette to the setting sun.

Her skin was a healthy pink, though more in similarity to ivory in color, and her lips were a few shades darker to give her an almost doll-like appearance. The lashes that laced the lids were dense and drawn out, and a small yet proud nose added to the innocent-yet-hardly-so face. The cheekbones were set high and, from the look of her, she seemed to be very nice underneath the thin layer of grim that she had collected.

It was a few moments later that Neji finally realized that he was paying too much attention to the girl and not enough on what he should do. Attempting to swallow the blush that was suddenly beginning to spread across his cheeks and bridge of his nose, Neji tore his lilac eyes away from the sleeping female and onto the katana-like swords that, despite the change in position, had remained in the girl's hand.

The blades were clearly of samurai style, which puzzled Neji; had she killed a mercenary in order to attain such weapons, or was she actually a mercenary herself?

Neji decided that, at the moment, he ought to do something about the swords. He reached up to the girl's hands to clasp the hilts. The limp hands didn't resist surrendering the weapons, but when Neji attempted to lift the blades, the hands came up as well. It was then that he saw the thin leather strips that were wound around the hilts and looped around the girl's hands. He couldn't help but grin in admiration; smart way to keep your weapons handy.

Succeeding in completely removing and sheathing the swords in their respected scabbards, Neji then turned his attention to identify the female. There was no headband present anywhere visible on the girl, so finding out where she was from was currently out of question as Neji was not willing to search further.

To top that off, Neji could tell that by the way that her shallow breathing was increasing in speed, it was clear that she was contracting some sort of fever if she hadn't already. She'd need medical help soon, or she wouldn't wake up for a long while, or maybe never.

What to do? Neji himself was at a complete loss; the only solution he could diagnose was that he should bring her back to Konoha, and that meant to _carry _her! The first thought he had was to leave her and come back with medical help, but Konoha was still a good two hours away and the Hyuga felt that she possibly wouldn't last that long.

The next thought was to stay and wait for a search party, but the fact that Konoha was nearly stretched to its limits with shinobi on missions immediately scratched that idea.

The Hyuga sighed loudly; so much for staying clear of the female species, even if she was a kunoichi. Regrettably swallowing his pride, Neji resigned himself to his fate—which he was really despising at the moment—and proceeded to lift the girl into his arms.

He was immediately taken aback on how _light_ she was, despite the amount of pouches and such that hung from her belt, and even more so by the Chakra reading he was receiving. Even though clearly having been subjected to exhaustion, her reserves were near to completely full!

Suddenly, a sigh escaped the girl's lips, resulting in a terrified Neji almost dropping her. She then began to shift unconsciously in Neji's arms, the setting sunlight giving her skin an almost supernatural glow that was almost like starlight.

Neji couldn't help but be mesmerized by the strange sight, as well as frozen on the spot and petrified as the girl continued to twitch in his arms. As if sensing the warmth radiating from his body, the female unconsciously cuddled against his chest, sighed softly and slipped into a much deeper sleep.

Horrified at the girl's unconscious, yet trustworthy, movements, Neji's face suddenly went a bright red, and his legs immediately felt as if they were made of wet noodles. In order to contain himself, Neji grunted and mentally slapped himself. _What was wrong with him?_ This was possibly an enemy kunoichi for crying out loud; he shouldn't be going lovey-dovey on one or he'd never, again, be able to forgive himself.

Forcing the blush to subside, Neji instantly lifted off the earth and was once again soaring through the trees like an eagle carrying a newly caught kill.

Unknown to the male, however, was that a small, white creature pursued the shinobi through the trees, determined to stay with its human.

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><p>"Oh, Neji!" Ino squealed when she heard the story from the disgruntled male. "I had never thought of you as a gentleman. When did this start?" She glanced over at Tenten, who went beet red from head to foot.<p>

"Hey, don't look at me," Tenten squeaked, "Neji and I are just teammates, remember?"

Ino smiled slyly. "There's a first time for everything," she said before returning to her target. "So, are you going to spill it?"

"There is nothing to 'spill', Ino," Neji replied disdainfully. Just as he had correctly predicted, the out-going, and sometimes pain-in-the-neck Yamanaka had taken it into her head to relentlessly pound him till she got the answer that she wanted.

Fortunately, Neji's increasing headache seemed to aid in helping him avoid the female's questions, though he felt as if he wanted to grab her by the neck and tell her to shut it. Thankfully, Ino soon stopped after realizing that all her pestering questions did not seem to have an effect, much to the Hyuga's silent relief.

"You're so stuck-up, Hyuga," Ino exclaimed, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Why can't you lighten up just a little bit?"

"I'd be careful if I were you, Ino-chan," Tenten said. "People might not like a 'little lightened up' Neji."

As much as he wanted to applaud his teammate for her help, Neji remained silent and, instead, focused on the closed blinds of the observation window, where the girl was being tended to. The three attendants—Haruno Sakura, Shizune, and the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade—were quite surprised, at least by the looks they had sported on their faces, when they had arrived at the hospital on the account of Hyuga Neji's unexpected return.

They had even been more surprised when they saw the unconscious bundle of human that he had been previously—and embarrassingly—carrying. Without a question to the male, they had removed Neji's load and sent him with another nurse in order to be evaluated, as customs were. Now, he was stuck in the hallway to wait for the Hokage to speak with him on his _sudden_ find.

He was certain that the Hokage wanted to hear his side of the story, but he secretly hadn't expected Tenten, or Ino, to be present. Must have gotten word from Hinata, he had figured on seeing them, who got word from Hiashi-san, who had been alerted by Tsunade-sama of his arrival, due to protocol.

As he sat pondering in whether he could ask Hokage-sama to keep his return from missions under wraps, the door suddenly opened and the three women stepped out.

"I'm not going to ask if you were ambushed, Neji," Tsunade said once the door was closed. "Since it's clear that you weren't, but I'm curious on _how_ and _where_ you found her."

As Neji told his side of the story—which took about ten minutes; the listeners were completely silent, much to his relief. He only told what they needed to know, and exempted the part about the girl _cuddling_ against him.

"Why were you in that area, Neji-kun," Sakura asked curiously. "I thought your mission was farther west."

"It was," the Hyuga replied quickly, "but I was led over there." Which was almost true, as the band of Grass shinobi-rogues had the gall to lead him on a wild goose chase through half of Fire Country; they eventually got what they deserved.

"Well then," Tsunade began with such authority that Neji was slightly startled. "We'll have to find out what our friend went through to get in the condition she is in when she regains consciousness."

"Did you by chance sense her Chakra reading?" Neji asked curiously. "I thought I was mistaken—."

"You didn't," Sakura interrupted, "I checked her myself; her Chakra supply is near to full and there is no visible bruising, so I'm unsure if she was the victim or the attacker."

"That'll be interesting to find out, Sakura," Tsunade said before turning back to Neji. "Neji, go home and get some rest; by the look of you, you sure could use it. Don't worry about our little friend; Sakura and Shizune will be taking shifts to look after her throughout the night, both accompanied by a pair of ANBU."

"When can we expect her to wake up?" Sakura asked out of curiosity.

Tsunade shrugged. "It's unclear with her predicament, but possibly any day now. Perhaps tomorrow at a minimum, but don't worry about that till then. Now Neji, go get rest."

Inside, Neji was more than pleased to leave the not-so-sterile-environment and make his way through the near-deserted streets back to the Hyuga Residence. He couldn't, though, seem to shake the feeling that he was being pursued, though he pushed the worry into the depths of his mind.

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><p>Hinata was waiting for him at the main gate; she was dressed in her evening kimono and clearly had been waiting awhile. Her long, violet hair had been pulled up into a single bun, bound with a lavender ribbon, and her eyes were portrayed with ease and content.<p>

"You've been up this entire time, Hinata?" Neji asked when he passed inside the gate.

"Not really," his cousin replied sweetly, walking up beside Neji. "How was the mission?"

Neji shrugged. "The usual," he replied.

"Except for your little _find_, I expect," Hinata said, her smile echoing the tone of her voice. "Oto-san said that you were returning when you came across her."

"Yeah, something like that," Neji agreed quickly.

"You weren't trying to avoid Oto-san again, were you?" Hinata then asked, standing much straighter than she had been.

Inwardly, Neji cursed that his timid, yet strong cousin could see what he was thinking. Had to have been from both being possessors of the Byakugan, though Neji felt that that little truth wasn't even the tip of the iceberg.

"Oto-san sent out several more invitations this morning," Hinata whispered softly. "You know he is just looking out for you, Neji-kun."

Neji sighed; it was pure truth that, after his own Oto-san's sacrifice for his brother, Hiashi-san had taken full responsibility over Neji's well-being, though the younger male had never really fully appreciated the Head's attempt till a few years back.

"So, this kunoichi," Hinata began after a while of walking, "did Hokage-sama recognize her?"

Neji shook his head. "I couldn't locate her in the _Book_, so I think Hokage-sama will have Shizune snoop around and see if there are any new wanted posters with a resemblance to this kunoichi."

"So, what will happen afterward?"

"Hinata," Neji began, halting in his tracks and staring at his cousin, "don't you know when to stop asking questions?"

Hinata only smiled. "It's a women thing, Neji-kun," she said amiably, "you'd never understand."

"Then may I ask a question?" the male Hyuga asked.

"As long as it isn't too hard," his female cousin said.

"Alright," Neji said, taking a small, but deep, breath, "when are you going to inform Uzumaki on how you feel about him?"

Hinata's face immediately turned a dark red. "Neji-kun, please don't! How could you ask such a thing?"

"Just asking," Neji replied with a smile before entering the bathing house and leaving his cousin to finish the trek back to the main house alone.

He wasn't sure why, but after finally putting aside his hatred to Hinata because of her place in the Hyuga family, Neji had been quick to take her on as a sibling almost as with Hanabi. While he never meant it rudely, he often couldn't seem to pass the chance to tease his cousin, especially when it came to the oblivious blonde that had pound the notion of not giving up into his head some years before.

Neji wondered if he should tip the Uzumaki off on Hinata's feelings; that might get him to stop acting so oblivious when Hinata was around him. The thought of seeing the two together both amused and bothered Neji at the same time. As much as he tried to befriend others, Naruto was clearly a helpless case when it came to females, especially those with a will of iron and a temper of fire.

The water was greatly relaxing as Neji slipped in after properly bathing himself and wrapping a towel around his waist, and let the needed sigh of relief to escape his lips. It wasn't often that he would have peace and quiet at the Hyuga's private hot springs, but when he did, it was just a release from the rest of the world.

The relief, however, quickly faded as Neji's honed instincts alerted him to the fact that he was being watched. Having expected it to be Hanabi lurking about in hopes to catch him in the act of something stupid, Neji planned to give the Chakra signal no heed when he realized that the source of the energy was right above him!

At first Neji couldn't see anything when he looked up to the roofless sky. There were a few clouds lurking about over head, and already the near-to-full moon was beginning to reach its zenith in the dark blue sky.

Then, Neji's lilac eyes caught sight of something circling overhead; it was white and apparently small, too small to be easily seen at the height it was at. Though keeping his wits about him, Neji curiously made his way farther into the center of the warming pool to attempt a better look.

Fortunately, Neji didn't have to do anything; clearly having realized it had been spotted, the white speck suddenly took a plummet toward the earth, or actually to the place that Neji was currently stationed at.

Senses high and alert, Neji waited for the expected attack, ready to send a _Hakke Kusho_ its way in hopes to scare it off. Strangely, just as the animal reached attack range, it veered to the left and plunged headfirst in to the water at Neji's right. It didn't stay submerged for long, as it immediately came up and, after recovering from the spray of water that came his way, Neji finally managed to clearly see the creature.

He stared.

It couldn't have been any larger than a cat, with silver colored flesh and eyes that were amber in color and resembled much like those of a cat. The body it possessed was one of a lean built, and its arms weren't arms at all, but wings like those of a bat that lay flat across the surface of the water and each one was twice the size of its body in length and perhaps three times in width.

The animal's body length had to at least be over four feet, Neji saw, as it possessed a tail that had to be twice as long as its body, including the swan-like neck and gracefully crafted wedge-shaped head that was continually diving in the water, as if trying to clear itself of some unseen parasite. It was then Neji noticed the bright red patch that stretched across the width and length of its back, and up the base of its furless neck and tail.

As if realizing that it was being watched, the head snapped around toward Neji, who tensed and readied himself in case the creature decided to attack. The creature, however, didn't seem to deem the male as a threat, as it exited from the pool and proceeded to groom itself on the edge of the bathing area. It began to rub furiously at the red mark that it's back sported and Neji realized that the mark was a bad burn from a fire, and one that was clearly wasn't an accident.

"Hey, stop that," Neji retorted with no reason on his part when the burn began to become redder in color. "You're going to irritate it; stop it!"

He reached out to the creature, which was possibly a bad idea on his part, and the creature brought up its fleshy appendages in fright and appeared ready to take off. Both beings remained in their positions, each sizing up the other silently as the minutes slowly ticked by. Neji was certain the creature would most certainly attack him now and, with this close range and its small size, the creature would be difficult to ward off.

The first one to relax was again the winged animal, however, and the animal continued to viciously rub its triangular head on the raw flesh in what had to be extreme pain and aggravation.

"Hey, stop that!"

This time, Neji lunged at the animal and grabbed hold of the base of its tail as it attempted to take off. Surprisingly, the creature immediately settled on the stone flooring, as if clearly seeing that it was caught and there was no way out. It made a small chirp and cocked its head in a curious manner at the one who was currently holding it hostage by its own tail.

The Hyuga was surprised at the texture of the animal's flesh; it felt like old leather yet was smooth and fine like new parchment. The skin was so white that, at the distance that he was, Neji could clearly see the blue lines of its veins that stretched across its body and its wings, and they almost seemed to expand and contract as the blood was pumped through each one.

This creature was as amazing as it was possibly dangerous; tiny, ivory spokes of teeth lined the creature's mouth and, every time it opened its mouth, a fleshy, red tongue sat right in the bed of it.

By the look of the animal, it was clear to Neji that one wrong step and he could lose a hand.

Neji knew that he needed to do something; he wanted to get dried off and dressed before tending to the animal, but the fear of it taking off again really didn't sit well with the Hyuga prodigy one bit. He could possibly tie it with something around the neck, but he didn't want to do anything that would aggravate the wound even more.

Remembering then that there was an empty box in the dressing room, Neji gingerly reached out his free hand and lifted the animal up by its underside. The animal didn't seem to mind the way it was being handled and actually went limp in the male's hand, making a soft creel-like sound in its throat.

Neji was shocked at the animal's behavior; did it really trust him or was it so physically exhausted that it was too lethargic to care?

Being cautious of the talon-like claws that it sported on its feet and the tips of its wing fingers, Neji slowly made his way from the wading area to the dressing room. Thankfully, none of the servants were about and the box was where he had last seen it. Neji then opened the lid and placed the relaxed animal in it, closing the cover just enough that the creature couldn't get out but opened enough to that it wouldn't panic and cause more harm to itself.

He quickly dressed himself into his night clothes and, after recovering his personal items and managing to retrieve the animal without it making a fuss, Neji cautiously made his way to his room.

The walls were alit from the torches and there was hardly any noise at all; the creature clearly didn't like its new surroundings, however, and before Neji could even think of protesting, the animal left its place in his arms, clambered up onto his shoulder, and wound its ridiculously long tail around his neck as if it was an attempt to anchor itself.

Suppressing the grimace that accompanied the sensation of the sharp claws digging into his skin through his thin clothes, Neji hastily entered his room. He wasn't quite in the mood to be used as a perch, but figured that it would have to do for the moment. After all, this animal, if it could be called that, was something he had never come across of before, and was most certain that the Hokage would like to see it.

As he closed the door softly behind him, the animal instantly took off and glided over to where his bed was and, without a second thought, latched hold of one of the posts and anchored itself to it. It then merely cocked its head at a startled Neji in what had to be curiosity and chirped a few times like a bird.

Neji was confused; what kind of creature was this? It looked like a lizard with wings and claws, but it was so docile that it could be excused for a featherless parrot!

Regardless of his find, Neji wasn't in the mood to ponder over this unexpected discover. He was suppose to report to the Hokage on his mission details in the morning, so this little find would have to wait till then.

Retrieving his first-aid kit from his hip pouch, Neji wondered on why he, of all people, had to come across this particular animal. As if his earlier find wasn't enough to drive him batty over why she was there and what had occurred to put her in such a predicament, he now had to deal with telling the Hokage that he had come across something else when he should have been relaxing after a long mission.

"Now," he said, setting the plastic container onto his futon and opening it up. "Are you going to let me see that burn, or do I have to fight you in order to."

Almost as if it had understood him, the little creature immediately took off from its place on the wooden post and gracefully settled itself down beside Neji. It chirped a few times and cocked its head as if asking a question, though the Hyuga had no idea what to think of it.

'_At least it's being cooperative,'_ Neji thought as he picked up a packet of medical gel and began to smear the cold semi-liquid onto the reddened area.

The creature shivered a little at the touch of the lack of heat, but soon relaxed and arched its back up into the soothing feeling of the hand, while a thin blanket of flesh covered the yellow orbs as if it was a second eyelid.

Once the back had become glossy-like from the gel, Neji removed a small bundle of bandages, carefully set a cloth on top, and wound the thin material around to hold the fabric in place. The animal didn't take to the bandage very well, however, as it somewhat constricted the movement of its forelimbs at the base, mostly since the wrapping was a little tight on the muscles located there.

"I know it hurts," Neji said as he placed his tools back into his pack. "But it will have to do till I can get you to a real doctor; all I can do is stopping the pain, you understand?"

The creature again chirped and added a creel-like sound from its throat. It waddled rather clumsily over to the Hyuga, and rubbed its head against the hand that rested on the bed, peering up at the male with a question in its eyes.

"You can sleep there if you want," Neji said to the animal, already suspecting the question, "but if you do anything to get me in trouble with the Head, you're out of here!"

The animal clearly took note of the threat, and intriguingly watched as Neji slipped under the covers on the futon. It was a few minutes afterward that Neji felt a mass of heat settle near his head and cautiously opened an eye to see the creature slumbering on his pillow, its wings folded close to its body as the bandages would allow and its head resting on the padding.

_Must be a social animal, _Neji thought as he drifted off to sleep. First a mysterious kunoichi from who knows where, and now this?

_Just what was his life coming to?_

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><p><strong>Eek! I hope I didn't ruin Neji too much! Then again, he's 18 in this story, so wouldn't it be possible for him to be a little more…I don't know, mellow?<strong>

**As for the little creature, I'm planning on explaining what he is in a few chapters, though I'm sure that most can figure it out. I'm also planning on bringing the little fellow's origin around the same time as the mystery girl, so please bear with me.**

**Anyway, please read and review, since your inputs are what drive me forward in my writing.**


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